What is Scientific Inquiry? What is Classroom Inquiry?
Experiencing a Classroom Inquiry Activity
The Sandwich Cookie Challenge
How do we plan and facilitate classroom inquiry as teachers?
The challenge of planning and facilitating classroom inquiry that fosters deep understanding of key science concept is quite a challenge. A strong understanding of our respective disciplines, a clear understanding of what classroom inquiry entails, and appreciation for the joy of discovery are essential building blocks for this type of teaching. To flesh out our understanding of inquiry, work in pairs to choose one topic related to inquiry teaching and review its resources, and answer the questions provided so that we can all benefit from your thinking.
Decipher what results are crucial to the experiment and analysis and which to discard
Evaluate own procedure and findings/results
Knowledge Grades 9-12
Skills Grades 9-12
Scientists usually inquire about how physical,
living, or designed systems function.
Scientists conduct investigations for a wide
variety of reasons.
Scientists rely on technology to enhance
the gathering and manipulation of data.
Mathematics is essential in scientific inquiry.
Scientific explanations must adhere to criteria
such as: a proposed explanation must be logically
consistent; it must abide by the rules of evidence;
it must be open to questions an
; and it must be based on historical and current scientific knowledge.
l
Results of scientific inquiry -- new knowledge
and methods --
emerge from different types of investigations
and public communication among scientists.
Identify questions and concepts that guide scientific investigations.
Design and conduct scientific investigations.
Use technology and mathematics to improve investigations
and communications.
Formulate and revise scientific explanations and models using
logic and evidence.
Recognize and analyze alternative explanations and models.
Communicate and defend a scientific argument
Based on the table above, how would you summarize the essential ingredients of classroom-based inquiry?
Students should be able to/have:
conceptual skills and science conceptual skills (i.e. devising an experiment)
build on old knowledge by taking previously learned concepts and adding them to experimental results
How do you think the inquiry-rich teaching called for by NSES is similar to and different from the teaching that you have been observing in your field experience?
Similar
During classroom observations we've noticed that there has been communication of scientific explanations. (ie: Why would the flame of a candle burn out if a beaker was placed over it?)
Have also observed student investigations over a long period of time. (ie: Electives Forensic class conducting a murder investigation.) We have too!
Observed students using multiple processing skills: manipulation, cognitive and procedural skills. (ie: What the Heck is it?" activity.)
Students are able to make a real-life statement or connection to the purpose of the lab.
Students analyze and make conclusions about graphs and tables they create from results of investigations.
Differences
*Throughout observations we have all noticed that most inquiry happens within a laboratory activity rather than during regular classroom instruction.
Not using a "hook" to introduce the lesson in question form.
No emphasis on getting the students to come up with the main idea rather that just giving them the answers/information. (Make them intelligently work for the answer/information.)
Not seeing students sharing their conclusions with each other or the class.
Students do not questions the "science" based on what they find during investigations.
*
Do you think that a greater emphasis on inquiry is warranted? If so, how would you modify the teaching processes that you have been watching to make it truer to the NSES vision? If not, what do you consider the strengths of the teaching methods that you have seen?
YES! We would modify by using a "WOW" factor using creative phenomena. (ie: Using a hook to grab students attention and peak their curiosity, like "Ever felt a brain in a bag?" NO? Well I've got one for you all to feel today!!!!)
*Make the students become active participants in an investigation. (ie: Collecting data on invasive species within the community.)
Create activities or give classroom instruction that pertains to their lives. (i.e. taking cheek cells to investigate animals cells)
YES! Classrooms need more student centered instruction that allows them to explore, investigate and create their own understanding. Students will have a better grasp on concepts if they come up with their own conclusions based on experiences.
Lecture portions need to be reduced by getting right to the point, providing students with only enough background for them to continue the investigation to understanding. You can outline the main ideas as you lecture to emphasize main points before students begin inquiry activity. The activity will get the students to make connections between the ideas and be able to apply the concepts.
How would you explain your use of inquiry in your classroom to parents of a high-ability class on "Back to School" night. What modifications (if any) would you make to your presentation to the parents of a "regular" level class? To parents of a high ability class:
First explain what inquiry is (investigation, student centered, discovery, enhanced understanding).
Then provide examples of how inquiry is implemented in class (research based projects, web quests, labs, etc)
Explain to parents that having experience with inquiry activities now will help them perform better on standardized tests and then in college. Their students are more likely to retain the knowledge base they are developing in high school.
What factors determine whether teachers or students drive investigations?
Role of students or teachers in an investigation
- Students will be posing their own questions and ideas during inquiry assignments. They will use evidence while responding to questions, they use evidence to formulate their explanations, they connect the explanation to their knowledge.
Who determines question? creates procedure?
- The teacher originally poses a question, but leaves it open ended for the students can discuss and then go down different pathways.
Complexity of investigation
What do you think it means to do "open-ended" inquiry? How open-ended should inquiry activities be? What are the costs/benefits of students engaging in open-ended inquiry?
- Although questions are open ended the students should still be guided in some direction because even though a student is answering an open ended question, the standards need to be kept in mind.
- some benefits are that students get to think on their own opposed to being told how to think. Students are allowed to make their own pathways.
Open-ended has no right or wrong answer
Open-endedness depends on teacher preference, student ability, and complexity of topic
Benefits: teaching students to think like a scientist (critical thinking), contructivism, making connections
Costs: Difficult for students to grasp when there is no single clear cut answer
What do you think are some essential ingredients for an inquiry-rich lesson?
Build investigative skills (easy to hard)
Large block of time
Flexible learning environment
Student driven, are students able to connect principle concepts to inquiry process?
Since we are writing one lesson plan per day, describe a lesson sequence for possible inquiry activity. You many make this as specific or general as you please. -Opening-
-Teacher gives open ended question to the class.
-allows students to think about the topic for a few minutes.
-allows all students to give ideas in which they have thought of.
Engagement - The students may debate on their different opinions about the questions.
The teacher will monitor the debate, and when neccesary intervine to keep the students on task, but will try to stay out of the debate as much as possible.
Closing - The students homework assignment will be for the students to find supporting evidence for the next class for the points that they stated during the debate.
How do I write learning objectives and plan assessment for inquiry activities?
In order to focus your lesson planning, you need to start with goals for the activity or sequence of activities you are planning. Gallagher's Chapter 2 described some student investigations and key science skills. When planning an inquiry activity, you will need to make clear what you expect students to be able to do. Review the following resource and answer the question below.
List some learning objectives the inquiry activities you are planning to include in your unit? -- for a unit on Coriolis effect -- inquiry activity - students are given paper plates, as an analogy for earth. The students then roll a marble across a stationary paper plate (the marble goes straight), then next they rotate the paper plate and roll the marble across as it is rotating. (marbles are dipped in finger paint, so they make marks)
objective learning objective to go with inquiry - students will be able to construct a reason for why their marble creates the trail that it does; and given a scenario (example, shoot a rocket at Antarctica, would it hit it if it went in a straight line?)
For the activity the students will be finding out the dimensions of the distance from the sun to the earth and the earth to the moon and
then comparing them. We want them to be able to tell us why they are doing this and what is important from their findings. This will be
#8 science practice, constructing evidence-based explanations. They will be using their findings to explain that the model they used is not to scale and that in order to see a model to scale they need to go outside the classroom because its extremely large.
Describe at least 5 possible ways that you could assess students' understanding of inquiry and science practices in your classes. 1. Given a problem/question/hypothesis, see if they can construct a reasonable experiment to justify their reasoning
2. Students could write about why it is important to come to their own conclusions about scientific phenomenon instead of it being given to them/being lectured
What is Scientific Inquiry? What is Classroom Inquiry?
Experiencing a Classroom Inquiry Activity
How do we plan and facilitate classroom inquiry as teachers?
The challenge of planning and facilitating classroom inquiry that fosters deep understanding of key science concept is quite a challenge. A strong understanding of our respective disciplines, a clear understanding of what classroom inquiry entails, and appreciation for the joy of discovery are essential building blocks for this type of teaching. To flesh out our understanding of inquiry, work in pairs to choose one topic related to inquiry teaching and review its resources, and answer the questions provided so that we can all benefit from your thinking.Question 1:
What knowledge and skills about inquiry should I plan to teach?
Review pp. 35-37 from the Inquiry and the National Standards linked below and answer following questions.
What scientific practices do students need to understand inquiry and be able to do in middle and high school?
living, or designed systems function.
Scientists conduct investigations for a wide
variety of reasons.
Scientists rely on technology to enhance
the gathering and manipulation of data.
Mathematics is essential in scientific inquiry.
Scientific explanations must adhere to criteria
such as: a proposed explanation must be logically
consistent; it must abide by the rules of evidence;
it must be open to questions an
; and it must be based on historical and current scientific knowledge.
l
Results of scientific inquiry -- new knowledge
and methods --
emerge from different types of investigations
and public communication among scientists.
Design and conduct scientific investigations.
Use technology and mathematics to improve investigations
and communications.
Formulate and revise scientific explanations and models using
logic and evidence.
Recognize and analyze alternative explanations and models.
Communicate and defend a scientific argument
Students should be able to/have:
Question 2:
How is "classroom inquiry" different from more traditional lab activities?
Review this excerpt from the National Science Education Standards and answer the following question.
How do you think the inquiry-rich teaching called for by NSES is similar to and different from the teaching that you have been observing in your field experience?
Similar
Differences
*Throughout observations we have all noticed that most inquiry happens within a laboratory activity rather than during regular classroom instruction.
- Not using a "hook" to introduce the lesson in question form.
- No emphasis on getting the students to come up with the main idea rather that just giving them the answers/information. (Make them intelligently work for the answer/information.)
- Not seeing students sharing their conclusions with each other or the class.
- Students do not questions the "science" based on what they find during investigations.
*Do you think that a greater emphasis on inquiry is warranted? If so, how would you modify the teaching processes that you have been watching to make it truer to the NSES vision? If not, what do you consider the strengths of the teaching methods that you have seen?
- YES! We would modify by using a "WOW" factor using creative phenomena. (ie: Using a hook to grab students attention and peak their curiosity, like "Ever felt a brain in a bag?" NO? Well I've got one for you all to feel today!!!!)
*Make the students become active participants in an investigation. (ie: Collecting data on invasive species within the community.)How would you explain your use of inquiry in your classroom to parents of a high-ability class on "Back to School" night. What modifications (if any) would you make to your presentation to the parents of a "regular" level class?
To parents of a high ability class:
Question 3:
How do I as a teacher plan and facilitate inquiry for my students?
What factors determine whether teachers or students drive investigations?
- Role of students or teachers in an investigation
- Students will be posing their own questions and ideas during inquiry assignments. They will use evidence while responding to questions, they use evidence to formulate their explanations, they connect the explanation to their knowledge.- Who determines question? creates procedure?
- The teacher originally poses a question, but leaves it open ended for the students can discuss and then go down different pathways.What do you think it means to do "open-ended" inquiry? How open-ended should inquiry activities be? What are the costs/benefits of students engaging in open-ended inquiry?
- Although questions are open ended the students should still be guided in some direction because even though a student is answering an open ended question, the standards need to be kept in mind.
- some benefits are that students get to think on their own opposed to being told how to think. Students are allowed to make their own pathways.
What do you think are some essential ingredients for an inquiry-rich lesson?
Since we are writing one lesson plan per day, describe a lesson sequence for possible inquiry activity. You many make this as specific or general as you please.
- Opening-
-Teacher gives open ended question to the class.
-allows students to think about the topic for a few minutes.
-allows all students to give ideas in which they have thought of.
Engagement - The students may debate on their different opinions about the questions.
The teacher will monitor the debate, and when neccesary intervine to keep the students on task, but will try to stay out of the debate as much as possible.
Closing - The students homework assignment will be for the students to find supporting evidence for the next class for the points that they stated during the debate.
Question 4:
How do I write learning objectives and plan assessment for inquiry activities?
In order to focus your lesson planning, you need to start with goals for the activity or sequence of activities you are planning. Gallagher's Chapter 2 described some student investigations and key science skills. When planning an inquiry activity, you will need to make clear what you expect students to be able to do. Review the following resource and answer the question below.
List some learning objectives the inquiry activities you are planning to include in your unit?
-- for a unit on Coriolis effect --
inquiry activity - students are given paper plates, as an analogy for earth. The students then roll a marble across a stationary paper plate (the marble goes straight), then next they rotate the paper plate and roll the marble across as it is rotating. (marbles are dipped in finger paint, so they make marks)
objective
learning objective to go with inquiry - students will be able to construct a reason for why their marble creates the trail that it does; and given a scenario (example, shoot a rocket at Antarctica, would it hit it if it went in a straight line?)
For the activity the students will be finding out the dimensions of the distance from the sun to the earth and the earth to the moon and
then comparing them. We want them to be able to tell us why they are doing this and what is important from their findings. This will be
#8 science practice, constructing evidence-based explanations. They will be using their findings to explain that the model they used is not to scale and that in order to see a model to scale they need to go outside the classroom because its extremely large.
Describe at least 5 possible ways that you could assess students' understanding of inquiry and science practices in your classes.
1. Given a problem/question/hypothesis, see if they can construct a reasonable experiment to justify their reasoning
2. Students could write about why it is important to come to their own conclusions about scientific phenomenon instead of it being given to them/being lectured